Residential Recycling Offered Every Other Week; Commercial Offered Weekly

By Loni Rahm

The City of Chelan will be offering residential curbside recycling service beginning this week and continuing on an every other week cycle on the same day as your regular garbage pick up. Commercial and business accounts will be serviced weekly.

You should have already received a large blue tote at your residential or commercial address – if not you can contact the City at 509-682-8030 to make arrangements for delivery. The blue container should be placed curbside, facing the street or alley. Place the recycling tote a minimum of 3 feet away from your regular (green) garbage tote to ensure adequate equipment access and safety.

Mayor Cooney has expressed how pleased he is with this new service, indicating there was a great deal of discussion and evaluation which led to replacement of the Recycling Center with curbside recycling. The cost savings of closing the Recycling Center will support the initial curbside program, with future rates to be reviewed during the City’s annual budget process.

It’s important to note that not every item that was previously collected at the Recycling Center will be part of the curbside program.

 Following is a list of the items that CAN go into the Recycling Tote:

  • Cardboard
  • Newspaper and Magazines (no copy/mixed paper)
  • Aluminum Cans
  • Tin Cans
  • Small Scrap Metal Items
  • Plastic #1 and #2 (referred to as “bottles with necks”)

When in doubt about the Plastics, simply turn the item over and check for the recycling logo on the bottom. If it has a #1 or a #2, it’s acceptable.

According to the City, major changes in the resale market have made it cost prohibitive to continue to collect and recycle many items such as glass, mixed paper and some plastics. The City has indicated that these changes are not a result of curbside recycling. Had the Recycling Center continued operation, they would have had to discontinue collection of these same items. If the resale market changes, the City may be able to accept a wider range of materials.

Following is a list of items that CAN NOT go into the Recycling Tote:

  • Plastics other than #1 / #2 Plastics – “bottles with necks”
  • Loose Paper of Any Kind Such as Copy/Printer Paper
  • Glass of ANY Kind
  • Diapers
  • Pet Waste
  • CD’s and CD Cases
  • Styrofoam Materials Including Packing Peanuts, Food Trays, Cups etc.

The items that can not go into recycling, should be put into the trash tote for regular pick up.

Additional information can be found at the City’s website.